The invention relates to providing services for mobile subscribers especially in the Internet.
To keep the specification illustrative, the invention is described in connection with the Internet. It is impossible to limit or define the Internet accurately. In the context of this application the Internet refers to any combination of a plurality of networks which comprise a plurality of servers and in which several protocols are used, in particular HTTP and TCP/IP and their enhancements.
Referring to FIG. 1, a user of a basic mobile station MS has so far had few possibilities of fetching information via data networks. A mobile subscriber who has a simple mobile station without a connection to a computer can call to a service number which is specific to each service and in which the requested service is provided. An example of such a service is the weather forecast for seafarers provided by the Meteorological Institute in Finland. The mobile subscriber may for example choose that the weather forecast is transmitted to his mobile station four times a day. From the service provider the information is sent via the public switched telephone network PSTN to the short message service center SMSC of a mobile communications system 2, from which it is forwarded to the mobile station MS of the person who requested the service.
There are several problems associated with the prior art mechanisms. A user of a basic mobile station does not have any possibility of utilizing the services provided via the Internet. Utilization of a service requires that the service provider provides the service via a mechanism supported by the mobile communications system, usually as short messages. Even when the users of basic mobile stations are provided with services in the form of short messages, the content of such services is usually older or less comprehensive than the content of services provided for those using the services via a personal computer and the Internet. In telecommunications via the Internet the user's location is not usually transmitted to the service provider, but the service user dependent on the location has to inform the service provider of his location separately. Furthermore, the user has to select each separate service via a separate service number.
A further problem is that provision of services is dependent on the operator selected. The above-mentioned weather forecast for seafarers, for example, is available in the network of only one mobile operator in Finland. Furthermore, usually no information is transmitted to the service provider on the type of the terminal used by the mobile subscriber. For example, the above-mentioned weather forecast for seafarers could be sent as a weather chart in the form of a picture, provided that the terminal comprises a graphical display and information on the existence and properties of the graphical display could be transmitted to the service provider.
By connecting a mobile station MS to a personal computer PC it is possible to make all data network services available. FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified architecture of such an arrangement. The user of a computer PC feeds commands (address of a www page, such as www.nokia.com) into his browser. This interprets the command and concludes whether the user wants to fetch a www page, read or send electronic mail, or transfer files, etc. Depending on the command given by the user the browser sends a command via different protocol layers over the air interface Um via the mobile communications system 2 to the public telecommunications network PSTN, thorugh which the connection to the Internet is established. When information is sent from the Internet to a computer PC, the browser interprets on the basis of the protocol layer used whether there is mail for the user or a www page in the form of a HTML code, for instance. The browser shows the information on the display of a computer PC to the user according to the nature of the information.
Connecting a computer with a mobile station is an expensive solution, which also requires a lot of space. New kinds of communication means, such as the Nokia Communicator 9000, have come onto the market recently. In FIG. 1 the device denoted by SP (“Smart Phone”) illustrates such communication means. With respect to its overall size and data processing resources such an integrated device is a compromise between a basic mobile station and a computer connected to a mobile station. Its programs are not compatible with personal computers produced according to industrial standards, and thus it is not possible to employ the same telecommunications programs and applications in it as in the computers produced according to the industrial standards.
As the resources of a mobile terminal are increased (e.g. by connecting or integrating a computer and a mobile station), the risk of receiving viruses or other undesirable programs to the mobile terminal increases. In addition to viruses, there are other kinds of undesirable programs known as cookies, which in addition to a useful service also transmit information on the user's terminal, its operation, etc. to the network. Such terminals may have enough resources for storing undesirable cookies, but they usually lack sufficient resources for detecting or eliminating them.
In the field of mobile communications it has been a general tendency to solve these problems by increasing the intelligence of mobile stations. One example of an advanced mobile station is the above-mentioned Nokia Communicator 9000. It is not, however, possible to solve all the above-mentioned problems satisfactorily by only introducing new, more intelligent mobile stations into the market. One problem associated with this approach is that at the moment there are tens of millions of almost new mobile stations on the market, and their users are understandably unwilling to invest in new devices. One of the operators problem is the vicious circle which emerges when the users do not invest in new devices until there is a sufficient number of services available to them. On the other, it is not profitable for the operator to provide new services until there is a sufficient number of terminals capable of utilizing these services on the market.